New Orleans Forgotten

Update December 16, 2005:

The Bush administration agreed on Thursday to double what it would
spend on flood protection for New Orleans, promising a system that it
said would make the city safe from catastrophic flooding from a storm
as powerful as Hurricane Katrina. — New York Times

In New Orleans, it is said, “it's all about the spirit.”

Those on the scene of the Human Rights Day march say skies were a bit
brighter, even though temperatures were on the cool side for New
Orleans. Just over 100 days ago, many of those marching to City Hall
experienced life-threatening neglect of the highest order. On
this second Saturday in December, the legacy of Katrina had faded just a bit,
while the city's celebrated spirit – along with a shadow of hope had
returned.

About 5,000 displaced residents marched from Congo Square in Louis
Armstrong Park to City Hall, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Many of the demonstrators had come to make clearly evident their
inalienable stake in the rebuilding of a city rich in history and
creative arts. The march was organized by the People's Hurricane Relief
Fund and Oversight Coalition.

Demonstrators held signs demanding an end to a storm path of evictions
throughout the devastated Ninth Ward, an opportunity to participate in
rebuilding contracts doled out to third party developers, and
assurances of low-cost health care for those still suffering in
Katrina's aftermath.

Positive indicators are emerging outside of New Orleans that the voices
of the displaced are beginning to be heard. Just two days after
the march, a federal judge ruled that FEMA must extend its hotel
assistance program for an additional month beyond its January 7, 2006
deadline. The New York Times, in an editorial

the day after the
march demanded that the President use his bully pulpit to push Congress
to appropriate money for reconstruction of New Orleans' levees. The
Times says building the levee system is required before any rebuilding
of the city can begin. “Only his voice is loud enough to call people
home and convince them that commitments will be met,” the Times said of
Bush's role.

Earlier in the week, Tamika Middleton made some members of Congress
extremely uncomfortable when she told a House panel on the
reconstruction that the federal government's neglect in the aftermath
of Katrina amounted to nothing short of planned genocide.

“This government left us here (after Katrina hit) to
starve
and to die,” local activist Malcolm Suber told a crowd outside of City
Hall. “We are here to stand up and fight to ensure we get what we
deserve.”

“They don't
want to say what happened in New Orleans was racism.” she told the
committee, ”And it was indeed the murder of thousands of people from a
particular community and people with a specific racial and ethnic
identify.”

Displaced residents returned for the march on New Orleans
transported by bus from Houston, Baton Rouge, Chicago, New York
and even San
Francisco. For many, it was the first visit to the Crescent City
since another bus took them to temporary shelter in the Houston
Astrodome. “This government left us here (after Katrina hit) to starve
and to die,” local activist Malcolm Suber told a crowd outside of City
Hall. “We are here to stand up and fight to ensure we get what we
deserve.”

While commercial developers and FEMA-contracted construction firms fill
up the livable space remaining in the city, said Cassandra Burrows, a
spokesman for the march organizers, poor people have not been able to
return to their old neighborhoods – even if their homes remain
standing. Electricity and other utilities are not generally
available in the ravaged areas where helicopters had to rescue hundreds
stranded on rooftops.

The city's commercial focus is now on bringing visitors back to the
French Quarter, which survived Katrina with few scars. Controversy
continues regarding any commercial Mardi Gras celebration this coming
February. Many in New Orleans – especially those displaced – believe
the focus should be on assisting the city's poor return to the city
they love.

A day before the march, about 150 Katrina survivors met for a delegate
assembly in Jackson, Mississippi, to take some “first steps” to assure
that the voices of the poor are heard. Among the demands in the
organization's declarations were:

• Temporary housing within the city for those returning to rebuild their homes.

• Hiring of local residents by rebuilding contractors.

• An end to “price gouging” and evictions, and the implementation of affordable rents.

Already, there is some hope. Litigators have already won some
basic rights for those displaced. Until recently, landlords were
able to simply tack a note on the door of a residence where the tenant
had not returned in order to evict the residents. Now, the court
requires that landlords make contact through FEMA to find the former
residents. The delegates continue to seek “accountability” from local,
state and federal governments, while working with the Congressional
Black Caucus to implement legislation that will help Katrina survivors,
says Burrows.

The group is now organizing a project to find all of the thousands of
displaced residents scattered across the country since Katrina. They
will continue to make their proud voices heard. As long as they
are heard, Burrows says, there is hope for New Orleans' future.

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